The Internet never lets you escape your past. There are incriminating Facebook photos, e-mail mishaps and, for Al Franken, years and years of comedy footage that takes on new meaning now that the SNL alum has thrown off his Stuart Smalley cardigans in favor of dark suits and Senate-appropriate power ties.
While he still faces a court challenge from opponent Norm Coleman, Web users are celebrating Franken's triumph in the Minnesota Senate recount by passing around an obscure video of his appearance on the 1980s television dance show Solid Gold, for which the future politician impersonated Mick Jagger with a cover of "Under My Thumb."
Backed by the Solid Gold band and featuring his longtime comedy partner Tom Davis as Keith Richards, Franken bounces around onstage and exhibits a near-perfect display of the rock star's compellingly ugly sensuality. (The "Start Me Up"–era Jazzercize outfits were a nice touch.) It's the rock-'n'-roll impersonation of a lifetime; if he retains even a tenth of this energy level in the Senate, the economy will be fixed in no time.
O.K. ... maybe not. But at least we can say that we know what one of our Senators looks like in stretch pants.